Hundley focusing on today -- not tomorrow

San Diego Padres' Nick Hundley, right, does a two-handed high-five coming back to the dugout after scoring the tying run against the New York Mets in the fifth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
— AP

San Diego Padres' Nick Hundley, right, does a two-handed high-five coming back to the dugout after scoring the tying run against the New York Mets in the fifth inning of a baseball game on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2013, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
/ AP

Two Septembers ago, Nick Hundley put together one of the finer months of his career, a stretch that saw the Padres’ catcher slug .581 on the way to earning a three-year, $9 million contract the following spring.

Then Hundley slumped his way through most of the 2012 season, lost his starting job to an up-and-coming rookie and ended the season last September going under the knife to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.

A year later, with Yasmani Grandal’s 2014 season in question after sustaining his own significant knee injury, Hundley again has a clear path to playing time moving forward.

Not that the 29-year-old catcher is thinking that far ahead or behind him.

“I’ve wasted a lot of time in my career worrying about tomorrow or worrying about the day before,” Hundley said Monday after homering in the Padres’ 4-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. “As I’ve matured, the better and better I get at it. There’s still work to do. But I’ve definitely wasted too much time in the past about things I can’t control.”

Hundley certainly controlled the 1-0 slider that Barry Zito left up in the zone, hammering it 422 feet from home plate for his career-best 11th homer. Although the blast was just Hundley’s second extra-base hit over his last 12 games, it was a reminder that the 6-foot-1 hitter can still produce in the middle of a lineup even if he has yet to regain the form he displayed while hitting .351 over the final month of the 2011 season.

“Nick’s got damage in his bat; you know, he does,” Padres manager Bud Black said. “He’s got some pull power and he takes a rip at it. I think he’s a dangerous bat. There’s some things he’s working on with (hitting coach Phil Plantier). In good counts, on certain pitches, he can put a charge into a ball. It’s good to see.”

Much of that work has to do with Hundley’s mental approach. The details, those will stay between Hundley, Plantier and assistant hitting coach Alonzo Powell, but Hundley admits that he’s growing more this season than he has at any point of his career.

“I came here to work,” said Hundley, whose 11 homers are the most by a Padres catcher since Ramon Hernandez hit 12 in 2005. “Just because it’s late in the season doesn’t mean you can’t get better. Phil and ‘Zo put in a lot of time with me, grinding through a lot of things. You know, I’ve learned a lot. …

“It’s a testament to those two guys that I feel like I’ve learned more this year than in the past.”

Burch’s back

The Padres again expanded their roster Monday, adding right-hander Burch Smith from Triple-A Tucson for his fourth stint in the big leagues.

Although originally slated for relief duty, Black said that the 23-year-old would receive some consideration for a start in the coming days.

Smith is coming off a dazzling start for Triple-A Tucson, scattering three hits over seven scoreless innings while striking out 10 Thursday. He was 6-3 with a 2.63 ERA in 18 games between stops at Double-A and Triple-A, but has an 11.37 ERA in six games with the Padres this year, three of them starts.